Day 77: The Criminal Mind of Dutch Schultz

originally published March 17, 2012 Dutch Schultz. The name just oozes gangsteriness. So did the man. Born in 1902 with the decidedly less menacing name of Arthur Flegenheimer, Schultz was traumatized by his father’s departure when he was fourteen. He left school to find work, hooking up with Schultz Trucking in the Bronx. At the […]

Day 50: The Deutscher Werkbund – Making Germany Prettier For 105 Years

originally published February 19, 2012 You know, if it wasn’t for those pesky uptight goose-steppers showing up in the mid 1930s, the Germans might have experienced a peerless renaissance of inventive art. As it stands, the influence of pre-Nazi German art and architecture is still impressive. Aesthetically, some of it is nothing short of incredible. […]

Day 13: The Five Points – Not The Ideal 19th Century Tourist Destination

originally published January 13, 2012 For anyone who has not watched Martin Scorcese’s epic 2002 film, The Gangs of New York, the gist is essentially that there were gangs. In New York. The focus is on a neighborhood known as the Five Points in central Manhattan, a slum filled with poverty-stricken immigrants, which came to […]